📣 Out Now! SDC Empower! Podcast Episode 13 🎧

The Power of Gender Lens Investing: Shifting Capital to Close the Gender Gap 💼✨

In the face of worsening gender disparities, investing in girls and women emerges as a vital strategy. Join us as we delve into the transformative power of gender lens investing with Jessica Espinoza, CEO of 2X Global. From entrepreneurship to supply chain practices, Jessica Espinoza sheds light on the potential of gender lens investing to drive both financial returns💰 and social impact🌍. Envision a future where increasing amounts of capital within the expansive financial system are redirected towards advancing gender equality. This shift has already begun. This episode explores how we can accelerate it together🤝.

👉 Listen to it here

To see pictures of our guest Jessica Espinoza spearheading the promotion of gender lens investing internationally, watch the short video on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And don’t forget to like and share it with your network. 

Do you have a new podcast topic idea? We look forward to recieving your suggestions: miranda.fiedler@eda.admin.ch  

All episodes can be found on spotify and google podcast.

Happy Listening! 🎧

Brought to you by the Peace, Governance and Equality Section (PGE) & the Economy and Education Section (E+E)

Returning survivors of human trafficking in Bangladesh are faced with stigmatization and discrimination by their families and communities. In this episode, Dipta Rakshit from Winrock International talks about the hardships of returned trafficking survivors and how the project Ashshash supports them in rebuilding their lives. As part of the project's holistic approach, trafficking survivors access skills and entrepreneurship training to enter the job market or start their own company – taking their destiny back into their own hands.

All episodes can be found on spotify and google podcast. 

Happy Listening!

Brought to you by the Peace, Governance and Equality Section & the Economy and Education Section

Podcast Empower! – New episode on how weaving empowers women and preserves cultural heritage in Myanmar

In this episode, Nathalie Paarlberg talks about Turquoise Mountain and the work they do with women weavers in Myanmar. Myanmar has a long artisanal tradition of weaving, and Turquoise Mountain ensures that the weavings are spread throughout the world. The organization not only helps female weavers earn an income, but also encourages them to pass on an ancient tradition with special fabrics like silk to the next generation, preserving one of Myanmar's cultural assets. 

Find all podcasts >> here

The Summit organized by GenderSmart took place in October and provided a unique platform for development actors to come together with over 300 senior investment leaders, finance intermediaries and gender experts who want to advance gender equality through gender lens investing (GLI). The theme was ’Traction to Transformation’, seeking to explore ways how the growing GLI community can create a new era of sustainable, gender-smart growth.

Four Case Studies about some of SDC’s innovative Private Sector Partnerships (PSE) were just published. They portray 1) Social Impact Incentives (SIINC), 2) Impact-Linked Finance Fund (ILFF), 3) Catalytic Market Facility Aceli Africa (Aceli), and 4) Product Development Partnerships (PDPs). The Case Studies provide an easy to read (and well-layouted) introduction to those projects and mechanisms and can also be shared outside of SDC. 

Take a look at the new page and sources on Gender Lens Investing (GLI). 

Since SDG 5 on gender equality and women's empowerment is one of the most underfinanced Sustainable Development Goals, the SDC seeks to further strengthen its profile on gender lens investing by promoting innovative approaches in gender financing.

Two new episodes are out now:

Ep. 6: Gender Transformative Approach: changing attitudes towards women's role and responsbilities

Ep. 7: Artisanal embroidery - empowering refugee women one stich at a time

Find the podcasts >> here